President of the Professional Photographers of N.C. ending term

What started as a part-time job almost 20 years ago for Bruce Williamson has led to him serving as president of the Professional Photographers of North Carolina.

Williamson said he started his photo business, Bruce Williamson’s Photography, in 1995 while employed as an instructor in the Agriculture Department at Lenoir Community College.

“I worked (as a photographer) mostly on nights and weekends,” he said.

Williamson said he thought about starting the business after taking some photography classes at LCC.

“I always enjoyed photographing events and people, activities that my students were involved in,” he said. “To be better at that, I took a few classes.”

Williamson said he received permission from LCC before he started the business.

“I did most anything that would come along,” he said. “I did some senior sessions for high school seniors and then began to pick up a couple of weddings.”

In the fall of 1996, Williamson was told by a fellow photographer that he should join the Professional Photographers of North Carolina.

“I went to their first convention in March of 1997 and all kinds of doors opened up,” he said.

Since then, Williamson has attended every convention and been involved with the association as often as he can.

When he retired from LCC in Dec. 2001, Williamson shifted his focus to his business full-time.

Williamson said during that time he hired Michael Taylor, a graduate of LCC’s graphic design department, to help with converting from film to digital cameras. Also, having Taylor on staff allowed Williamson to take a leadership role in the Professional Photographers of North Carolina.

“I started out as treasurer" he said, "and for the past year and a half I have been president.”

Williamson said during that time, he has taken steps to reach out to other photographers.

“At one time, the only way you could become a member of PPNC was that you had to be a full-time professional photographer and be sponsored by someone,” he said. “We have taken down some of the barriers and allowed people to come in even as an aspiring photographer with the hopes that they will learn do things the right way in their business ethics and in the quality of images they produce for their clients.”

Williamson’s term as president will conclude at the group’s annual convention, now known as an expo. The expo will be held Aug. 15-19 at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel and Convention Center in Durham and feature classes, contests and a trade show.

Williamson said he has enjoyed his time as president.

“I never dreamed that I would have this opportunity,” he said.

Williamson said he favorite thing to photograph has been families.

“I think it’s important that people have a quality portrait of their family and not necessarily in a formal setting,” he said. “I’m more about lifestyle photography. I think it’s important that we look at these portraits 100 years from now to see how our forefathers dressed and what activities they were involved in.”

Williamson said networking is the most beneficial aspect of being a part of the association.

“It’s about having a person you can go to and ask a question without feeling intimidated,” he said. “I’ve borrowed equipment from people an hour or so away. I’ve had equipment failure and who do I call? I call my friends in the associations that understand my needs, and we’ve just all made a commitment to help each other.”

For more information on the expo, go to carolinaphotoexpo.com.

Noah Clark can be reached at 252-559-1073 or Noah.Clark@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @nclark763.